It was Friday, October 31st, 2014, the last Halloween that Harry and Ginny would have all three of their kids home for Halloween, as James was starting Hogwarts that next September.
Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily had all gathered in the living room when Harry addressed them.
"This is the last Halloween the whole family will be together, " said Harry matter of factly, "I thought the five of us could have a Jack O Lantern Craving Competition. No bets. Nothing on the line. Just a friendly competition."
"That sounds fun, " said James and Lily eagerly.
"I like the idea, " said Albus slowly, "But let's call a spade a spade here: mom and dad have a huge advantage over us kids because they can use magic. We don't even have our wands yet."
"No, " said Harry clearly, "Ginny and I will not be using magic here. To ensure fairness, all five of us will be carving our Jack O Lanterns by hand. I will only use magic to summon the pumpkins we will be using."
So, Harry retrieved his wand from his right hand pocket with his right hand.
Harry raised his wand and cried "Accio pumpkins!"
Next nanosecond, the five pumpkins the Potters would be using to carve Jack O Lanterns landed on a table in the living room and Harry returned his wand to his right hand pocket.
Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily each pulled out a chair and sat down in front of a pumpkin. Each setting also had carving tools readily set out.
"Go for it, Potters!" piped up Harry.
To everyone's delight, when they had finished carving their Jack O Lanterns, all five of them had done something different.
"Great job, everyone, " said Harry happily, "I'm going to reveal the results in a reverse order, but all five of us can be proud of our excellent carving today."
"In fifth place, with his spider Jack O Lantern, Albus Severus Potter, " announced Harry.
"I can't deny that everyone else made superior Jack O Lanterns to mine, " admitted Albus, "My spider form has the most obviously imperfect shape of the five. All the same, I'm honestly pretty pleased with my Jack O Lantern. Not a GOAT Jack O Lantern by any means. Buy I truly do like my Jack O Lantern."
"As well you should, " said Harry supportively, "Your spider Jack O Lantern is a legitimately good Jack O Lantern. But the completion is stiff. "
"Spiders are a really hard shape to master, " added James, "You should be proud of the fact your imperfections were as few as they were."
"Honestly, " said Lily, "If I had used the spider shape, my Jack O Lantern would have been messy and hardly recognizable as a spider Jack O Lantern. You finished fifth because you actually tried a super hard shape."
"You did a wonderful job with a difficult shape, Albus, " said Ginny encouragingly, "We're all super proud of you."
"Thanks, everyone, " said Albus, "But who's forth?"
"Coming in forth place with her cat Jack O Lantern, Lily Luna Potter, " announced Harry.
"That's totally fair, " said Lily contently, "The ears are a little too crooked the whiskers a little too long but holistically my cat Jack O Lantern is pretty good. But mom's, dad's and James's are clearly far more superb."
"Still. a cat is a challenging tedious shape, and you did a wonderful in doing what you did, " said James proudly, "Cats have so many parts to their faces and such."
"Lily is a great cat lover, " smiled Albus, "I'm not surprised she used the cat shape."
"Other than the ears being a little out of whack, it looks like a real cat, " said Ginny approvingly.
"Lily put everything she had into her cat Jack O Lantern and got a pretty good result, " said Harry proudly.
"I love my cat Jack O Lantern, " beamed Lily, "Because I love anything to do with cats. Thank you for the kind words, everyone."
"Coming in third place with her generic face Jack O Lantern, Ginny Molly Weasley, " revealed Harry.
"Third is where I deserve to finish, " said Ginny briskly, "There are no real flaws in my Jack O Lantern, but it's certainly not as original as Harry's or James's "
"To do the face Jack O Lantern that perfectly is still worthy of admiration, " said Lily kindly.
"Say what you will, mom's form was perfect, " said Albus brightly.
"The level of mastery commands respect, " said James cheerfully.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, " said Harry clearly, "Coming in second place with his Quidditch themed Jack O Lantern, Harry James Potter."
"Your Jack O Lantern is super cool, dad, " said James admiringly.
"That beater's bat for the mouth is amazing!" declared Albus.
The golden snitch as a nose is so cute!" cooed Lily.
"And the quaffle as eyes are adorable!" said Ginny glowingly.
"Making a Quidditch themed Jack O Lantern was fun, " grinned Harry, "I really thought I'd be able to call myself the winner. But I got one upped. The winner of the Potter Jack O Lantern Carving Contest with his castle Jack O Lantern is James Sirius Potter."
"YES!" scrammed James, "My Jack O Lantern was the best! You like that! You like that!"
"I had really hoped to be the winner myself, " conceded Harry, "But there's no way that any honest evaluation of the five Jack O Lanterns could declare anyone but you the winner."
"Making a castle Jack O Lantern was such a unique choice, " said Ginny admiringly.
"I sure as hell would never have thought of that, " said Albus wryly.
"And the difficulty level was expert!" piped up Lily, "The castle Jack O Lantern that James crafted is a true masterpiece."
"I'm delighted to see how much you all appreciate my Jack O Lantern, " said James happily.
"I was stunned when we finished to see you produce a flawless castle Jack O Lantern, " said Harry briskly. "It's amazing."
"I'm thrilled by my execution of carving out the castle Jack O Lantern, " said James in a satisfied voice.
Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily now just sat at the table looking at the five carved Jack O Lanterns.
The competition was what it was, but Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily now just sat there admiring their own and each other's work.
Carving Jack O Lanterns had been a success for the Potters.